When meeting a person with a vision impairment, address them by name and introduce yourself so they know you are talking to them. Don’t expect them to guess who is talking to them.

When entering or leaving the room, say something that announces your presence or your intention to leave. This avoids embarrassing situations.

Describe visual events in the room that everyone else is enjoying. Also let him know if there is an upsetting situation that he cannot evaluate for himself.

Make the student aware of any changes to the layout of the classroom.

If you are leaving the student alone, especially in an unfamiliar area, do not leave him in the middle of the room. Make sure he has physical contact with a table etc.

Remember to either close or open doors fully.

When giving directions be specific with your language. Words like “over here” are vague and may cause confusion and frustration

Auditory clues are useful to give direction for short distances e.g. tapping his Brailler to give him direction to his desk.

Students may need reminders to use their cane effectively in order to remain safe. (It is always called a “cane”).

Feel comfortable using words like “see”, “look” etc.

A student with a vision impairment may need additional time to investigate a visual stimulus

Allow time for the student to adjust to different lighting levels when moving from outside to inside or vice versa

Never position a student facing a light source(natural or artificial)

Teach from a position without a light source coming from behind you

Each student will have his/her own distance for reading. Don’t be concerned if this distance is very short.

Some students adopt an eccentric viewing posture to obtain the clearest image. Allow the child to turn his head to view objects if needed.

Provide verbal cues eg. say the student’s name and verbalise what is about to happen

Use verbal rewards and praise as the student cannot see a smile or nod of the head

The same disciplinary rules that apply to the rest of the class should apply to a student with a vision disability

19 Ways to Step Back

1. Acknowledge your impulse to make students' days go smoothly. There's a reason you chose the helping profession.

2. Pause before answering or helping.

3. Sit on your hands for a whole task while you practice giving verbal instead of touch cues.

4. The disability associated with vision loss only stems from lack of information. Pat yourself on the back every time you help with seeing but resist helping with thinking.

5. Schedule in advance a brief task or time period when you commit to no intervention. . . no matter what (unless safety is compromised.) See what happens. Reintroduce assistance only as needed.

6. Sit further away. If you have been within arm's reach, sit just within earshot. If you have been sitting just within earshot, sit across the room.

7. Take data instead. Keep a tally of the number of times in a lesson students appropriately go to their Classroom Teachers instead of other adults.

8. Call on students' learning partners or sighted guides. 9. Unless you are the Classroom Teacher, catch yourself before you correct students' work. Remember, this is about students' skills . . . not yours.

10. Teach students to decline assistance: "Thanks, but please let me try it by myself."

11. Phase out cues. 12. Have students discreetly ask their classmates forinformation (what page they are on, who the teacher is talking to, etc.) Encourage them to do this on the telephone in the evening as well as during school hours. 13. Remind yourself that you're stepping back so that students can become independent. It's harmful when you cover for them. Don't be responsible for holding them back in this area. 14. Make sure that team members (especially the principal) know your reasons for stepping back so it doesn't seem like you are shirking your responsibilities.

15. Clock how long it takes for students to do things independently. The extra time taken to do up zips, pick up dropped papers, or find page numbers may seem eternal but actually last only a few seconds.

16. Tell other adults in the classroom that you're going to step back and ask them to remind you when you should do this.

17. Let Classroom Teachers serve as clearinghouse for all questions or needs. Students ask their Classroom Teachers. The Classroom Teacher then decides to (a) respond themselves, (b) delegate other adults or students to help, or (c) ask the students to try to work it out alone.

18. Let your students make mistakes and get into trouble. It's part of the human experience!

19. Post a sign, "Could I be doing less?" An Excerpt from Classroom Collaboration by Laurel J Hudson (Ph.D)